Sri Lanka confirms will not accept MIR payment system

13 Oct, 2022

Sri Lanka today confirmed reports that it will not accept the MIR Russian card payment system.?

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) said that due to US sanctions on the MIR payment system, as confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Sri Lanka, the CBSL is not in a position to consider favorably, at the current juncture, the request to operate the MIR card scheme within the banking system.

Transport and Highways Minister Bandula Gunawardane who visited Russia recently, had reportedly requested the Central Bank to approve the payment method.

A number of banks around the world have suspended using the MIR card scheme to avoid US sanctions.

MIR is a payment scheme that operates independently of the Western financial system, allowing countries to transact with Russian banks outside the SWIFT interbank payments system and letting Russian citizens make digital transactions. (Colombo Gazette)

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